Are You Really Here?
by LivelyStevens
Summary: After the battle of the newborns and Victoria, Bella left Washington for college, to get married and make a huge change in her life.  Some time later she is drawn back to La Push.  Decisions are questioned and emotions are thick.  On hiatus for Nanowrimo
1. Chapter 1

**_This came to me late last night while battling not being able to sleep. It was jotted down in about 45 mintues and came to me in powerful waves. Read and let me know what to do next with it._**

The main blacktop road running into the reservation was empty. She didn't drive the car as much as kept it on the road and guided it towards an unknown destination. Bella didn't know what made her come back, why on this day it was so important for her to be there. No phone call brought her back, nobody told her that anything was about to occur and she needed to be there for it, but after a two day journey by plane and rental car she was back, driving down a wet road that was once so familiar to her that she knew what bumps and turns to slow down for, but now it felt alien to her. The trees standing guard on either side of the road were the same brown-gray and green, the small buildings dotting the landscape, may have had a new paint job on the outside, but they were the same houses, same business and same garages.

She drove all the way through and to the beach, which she also found empty. Under typical Northwest drizzle and mist, Bella pulled her rental car into the empty parking lot and got out. The weather was like a security blanket, wrapping her up in safety, reminding her with each drop that fell of all the events and memories of her short seventeen months in Washington state. Somehow it felt more like home than anywhere else she'd been. Bella walked the shoreline where she first heard the legends, where she'd come to swim or hang out, where many hours were spent growing up. Soft waves rolled onto the beach to her left telling her that no matter what occurred in life, everything continues without end.

She followed the beach to a well warn path she knew too well. It looked more defined since the last time it was traveled by her. If she continued on it she would pass a myriad of places that the rain helped her remember clearly. Every rock, tree root, and curve was still etched into her memory. Something was drawing her, step by step, down that path.

It kept to the beach and Bella was amazed to pass the giant fallen tree that washed up years ago. It was a favorite place of hers to run away to and think. The driftwood was mostly still on one piece and its intact branches reached up for the sky like infinite possibilities and twists or turns in life. Her pace slowed but didn't stop as she passed. It looked lonely there by itself with no on leaning or sitting against it.

She continued into dense forest on the trail, hearing the wildlife and the breeze sing her a song. Water dripped a steady tempo from leaves high above and hit the undergrowth under her feet. She was always warned by her father and others to stay out of the woods but she found them comforting, an easy place to hide from anything and everything. They and the things that lived in them never intimidated her into staying away. Too bad she was always found.

The path made a slight turn around a thick area of forest and passed a small house. It was Sam and Emily Uley's home, plus three kids that she knew about. It was a warm place for her. Flowers grew around the front steps, the yard was neatly kept. She couldn't remember the number of nights she spent behind the house, sitting around a roaring bonfire feeling like she was part of something, not an outsider looking in, but part of the circle. The trees around the house echoed back the laughter that was shared in that home by a group of great friends. Bella paused at the edge of the forest and looked at the house before slowly moving on and being swallowed by the trees.

She dug her hands deep into her pocket and looked down to watch her steps carefully. It would be a shame to come all this way only to stumble and fall and fall, but that wouldn't be a strange occurrence for her in these woods. The animals and humans had been witness to her clumsy acrobatics already in the past. Deliberate motions and better balance helped decrease her bumps and bruises and they did still happen from time to time.

She hesitated again with her feet, but this time before leaving the safety of the woods. Bella looked out at the two building on the property in front of her. It'd been a long while since they'd seen a fresh coat of paint. The last time she was there the garage and house held the same faded red color they currently had and nothing else would look right.

Coming out of the woods cautiously she passed the house first. Every inch, every step, every board of the house held one memory or another for her. Laughter, tears, pain, excitement, embarrassment; every emotion in human existence was experienced there by her at one time or another. It looked the same, maybe a little more tired, run down, lived in, but it was beautiful.

She crossed an old narrow wooden bridge, one of many that went over the creek that ran behind the house, and went closer to the garage. The door stood open and unlocked. Grass grew wild underneath the warped door proving that it hadn't been closed or moved in a long time. She ran her fingers across the width of it while getting closer to the opening wondering what she might find inside in the darkness.

Bella was mostly soaked and welcomed the roof over her head to stop the accumulating water in her clothes as she stepped inside. The interior hadn't changed. Bella didn't know if it was a relief to find the inside the same or if the sight caused her pain. In one of the hodgepodged spaces was his work bench. Tools and auto parts littered every open surface within a three foot radius. There were some chairs and couches around, they weren't any of the ones she might have used, and those would be long, long gone. Crates and boxes piled around the walls. Red work rags laid everywhere. She half laughed and half cried at what was around her until she looked back into the dusty, dark depths of the garage.

Bella couldn't believe what she saw. His precious Rabbit sat there like a puppy, happy to see her. She laughed and thought to herself that he would probably be buried with the damn thing. Next to it though, sat her truck, 'The Beast,' and their two bikes. She ran a hand all the way around her truck, eyes wide at the fascination that it was still around. She thought it'd bit the dust long ago and Charlie disposed of it. Her heart swelled with the love the metal sitting in front of her brought. She focused her attention of the two motorcycles that were once 'scrap metal.' She crouched down next to them and studied the wires and chrome thinking about how the parts once dotted the floor and useless at one time. She ran a hand down the seat remembering the freedom she had when she rode. The sight of the two of them sitting side by side choked her up with emotion.

Standing up from her position by the bikes, she didn't know what to do next. Every move she made since waking up two days ago were automatic and driven and led her here. Now she didn't know which way to go, how she was supposed to get there or why. She didn't know the why of this journey, but it didn't seem important. She took a big deep breath, bringing in reservation air along with the dust and grease of the garage and started to exit. She hoped the path would lead her back to her car and then maybe her next step would reveal itself. Her chest tightened, eyes teared up and she covered her mouth with a hand to hold in the emotion. Why was she drawn to this place? Why did she feel relief with every mile she got closer? Why did it hurt to walk away?

Nothing held her to this place anymore. All ties were severed after graduation. Charlie had been gone for a good seven years. Natural causes took him away in his sleep, but Bella linked his death to the wonderful food he ate and stress on the job. She sold the house, being the only thing left she could find, the truck having been moved to the garage on the reservation, and she just left. She didn't call or visit anyone, just took care of business and left. Many random thoughts about her last two years of high school plagued her mind since then but she was never drawn to come back until the afternoon of two days ago. There was a tug on her body and she followed it. She couldn't say it was a tug on her heart because that hadn't worked right for a long time.

To start the journey in the previous day was a push. When she landed in Seattle it was a constant was a pull. Now there was nothing other than the logical next step to get back to her car.

She braced herself for the feeling of rain falling on her body again but welcomed it to cover the stray tear that could still possibly fall. She stepped out of the garage and looked up to the heavens, opened her arms and embraced the rain. Bella turned around in circles and closed her eyes. That freedom of being eighteen again, even if only for a fleeting second descended upon her. She brought her arms back in and started back towards the house and the path. She felt lighter, less weighed down by something. Maybe she unknowingly let something go or it released its hold on her.

Like she did with Sam's place, Bella stopped, wanting to take another look around before walking away. She wanted to take a mental snapshot of the house and garage that played a big part of her life and remember every detail when she closed her eyes that night. It was like a dream being there. Everything was so quiet, peaceful, deserted and still. But she didn't count on seeing Jake walking up the rocky driveway away from a newer looking pickup truck wearing black dress pants, a long sleeved white button down shirt and tie. A suit coat scrunched up in his hand. His hair was long again and perfectly pulled back out of his face without a single strand out of place. His face was soft and tired; his head hung low, eyes hollow and sad. He was the same but somehow different. He looked younger than she remembered even though there were more years behind him.

Fifty yard separated them. She wasn't sure he'd seen her yet and she could take two steps and be out of sight. The density of the forest would hide her immediately. She looked to the woods and then back at the yard. Jake was staring right at her. She didn't move, not wanting to draw more attention to herself and hoped he dismissed her form as an illusion. Jake stared her down and took tentative steps in her direction. He was handsome as a man; gone was the bulky muscled hunk and it was replaced by something more substantial.

She couldn't run, there would be no hiding, only questions. His step ceased five feet from her. He'd been crying recently or holding tears back, puffiness clouded his beautiful brown eyes. He opened his month two or three times to say something but the words didn't come. She waited frozen in place. He composed himself enough to form words that shattered her due to the heavy emotion they held and because he sounded so lost.

"Are you really here?"

**_Is this a one shot? Is this something that feels like there is more of it? I know I should be working on _Jacksonville_ and I was until this literally knocked the wind out of me and I started writing. Let me know if this should stand alone or go on..._**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Read**_

The La Push police department was a strong force of four plus numerous volunteers. With an official population of fewer than five hundred the most frequent thing they had to deal with was rowdy teenagers from the reservation and surrounding towns goofing off at the beach. There was the occasional theft, speeding, misunderstandings between husband and wife, but mostly it was quiet. The force mainly kept a visual presence to deter people from doing anything and make the good people feel safe.

They ran a routine patrol schedule and route in the town itself, the beaches, and near the resort on the opposite side of their land. The talked to residents on a constant basis and learned how to identify tourists by their different styles of clothing and out of state plates on their cars. The department recognized what vehicles the residents drove by the rusted paint jobs custom applied by the salty sea air. When they came upon a newer looking vehicle at the beach with rental stickers for the third time in a five hour period of time and no one was around to go with it, they were confused and started looking into what might have happened to the driver.

The first time that the two patrolmen on duty saw the car they made no real notice. A causal comment was passed between them that it was too chilly and wet for any normal person to be at the beach and they gave a quick glance in that direction of the beach to look for the driver before turning the corner and continuing their patrol.

The second time they came upon the empty car they made a note in their log book about the license plate, general condition of the car, details about where it was sitting and why it caught their eye. It "JDLR," just didn't look right. From their SUV they looked up and down the beach and again saw no one. Their patrol the purposefully took them off the prescribed route dictated in the handbook and all over town instead looking for anyone who might look unfamiliar or was wondering around aimlessly. No one was found.

The last time the duo came around to the beach parking lot where the unfamiliar car was parked before, they were disappointed to still see it sitting there. While driving around, they thought they saw the rental car on driving out of the reservation on the main road. Seeing it sit there, perfectly positioned between two faded yellow lines meant they probably had some work to do. The SUV came to a stop behind the vehicle and they hopped out. The two men looked to be the same age, local, in their mid to late twenties. They had the same eyes, hair, bronzed skin tones; the only difference between then was their size. One was a lot bulkier and taller than the other.

More notes were taken about the car. Observations were made that there was nothing unusual about the outside or the inside of the vehicle. There was no paper work in plain sight giving a clue about who might have driven into town. No personal items strewn around to even show if a man or a woman was driving it. No signs of struggle were shown by the contents of the car or in the parking lot. No items were dropped as the person left the area.

A breeze blew off the beach and woods.

"You smell that?" The taller man asked to the other, who was now on hold with the national headquarters for the rental company. It was possible there might be something bigger that the empty car, like a missing person or worse. If it turned out to be nothing then at least it killed a few hours of their shift and sharpened their skills.

"There's a storm rolling in." The one of the phone replied not paying much attention. "I saw it on the news this morning."

"No, there's something else in the air."

The phone call was momentarily forgotten and the smaller man put his nose in the air and tried to single out what was the other man picked up. Maybe there was something burning, a forest fire or a house. He scrunched his brow up in confusion because he caught a trace of whatever it was in the wind but nothing was burning. It was oddly familiar though.

"Sir?" The phone came back to life in his ear.

"Yes, I'm here." He adjusted his stance, leaned to the SUV's hood and prepared to write any information that she offered.

"The car with the license plate and VIN number that you gave me was rented to an 'Isabella Swan' earlier this morning out of Seattle, Washington and is scheduled to be turned in tomorrow afternoon."

"Are you sure about that name?" The larger man raised his brow at his partner's question to the person on the other end of the phone. He watched the man on the phone spin around, phone to one ear tightly, finger in the other one to block out all other noise causing his elbow to jut out from his body. While waiting for the car rental lady to recheck the information, he stalked up and down the edge of the parking lot scanning the beach and water's edge. Nothing was seen.

"Yes, sir. I have a copy of her North Carolina driver's license right here on the screen in front of me and a scan of the rental papers from the office at the Seattle airport."

"Thank you for your help, Bye." His phone snapped shut. A new sense of urgency too over his form.

"What's going on?" He was at a total loss.

"Don't know yet, but we need to take a good like around."

"Whose car is this? You act as if it's the Queen of England. "

"The lady told me that it was rented to 'Isabella Swan.'"

"You're right. We need to take a good look around and find her, if we can't we might have to report it."

Isabella Swan and any variation of the name was known all over La Push. She was a good friend or acquaintance to a couple dozen of the residents and other people talked. Somehow, someone baring a striking resemblance to her made it into some of the stories that were told around the bonfire when the cold ones or the tribe's origins came up. The girl in the legend was described as the outside that brought the warring enemies together to fight a common threat. It was originally joked that the outsider was Isabella, or Bella as she like to be called, because she wasn't a tribe member and she spent a lot of time on the reservation in the past. If her name came up in passing conversation, funny looks went around depending on the mix of people one was in.

The beach was searched, the surrounding area was searched. The street and stores closest to the beach were looked into. Owners, patrons, and random people on the street were asked if they'd seen a woman walking around that they didn't recognize. The answer was always 'no.'"

They drove, they walked, they jogged around, all trying to find some sign of where their missing driver was.

"We'll make another turn and then if we come up with nothing we'll call the chief and make out a report."

"Let's hope we find something because that's one report I don't want to fill out and have my name on."

Bella and Jake sat in the kitchen surrounded by awkward silence. She waved off something to drink when he offered and sat down at the round wooden table that dominated the space. He sat down across from her with a glass of water and twisted it in his fingers at the base. Bella studied the inside of the house intently and stared at everything but him. Nothing was changed from the last time she was there. The same pictures sat on tables and shelves; a few new ones joined them here and there. The same pieces of furniture sat in their places looking a little more worn and used. But the house seemed colder, a little darker, and less full than it had before.

Jake sat across from her and couldn't get comfortable in the high straight back wooden chair. He sat, stiff as a board any very tall. He'd start to slouch either forward or backward, whatever it was that was playing on his mind pulling him down and then he'd snap back to sitting straight. He looked around, eyes glazed over, staring at nothing and never in her direction.

When he saw her in the mist across the property, he went closer to make sure that she was real. Now that they were sitting at the kitchen table, he didn't know what to do or what to say to her. There were too many questions, too many answers, too many emotions rambling around and he didn't know how to start. He didn't know what question he wanted answered first. How would he handle the answers? There was already so much going on before she appeared. It was all just too much. Jacob looked out the window and stared at nothing in particular. The silence between them was more deafening than noise in his head. He wondered that if he sat there long enough, would she leave and disappear.

The phone rang on the wall and it startled Bella. She jumped and hit the table with her knee. Jacob looked at her in surprise and rose gracefully to answer the phone.

She listened carefully. She knew it wasn't any of her business, but it was hard to tune out the sound of his voice. So little had been said between them and any chance to hear him speak was going to be taken.

"Hello?" He sounded empty. "Yes, what can I do for you?" She hated that she could only hear one side of the conversation. He listened to the caller and turned away from Bella's prying ear. "That means a lot, thank you." He paused for a second and then ended the call. "I will, thank you, bye." He took a deep, calming, steady breath before replacing the handset and turning back to the table, but the phone rang again almost instantly. Jacob held his head in his hand and turned back to the wall to answer it.

"Hello?" He seemed agitated. "Hey guys." Bella strained again to hear. Maybe a familiar name would be said and she wanted to hear it. "So go fill it out, what does it have to do with me?" He stopped to listen. "And?" His agitation was growing physically and he shook. His body tensed, he tightened his jaw. The counter must have been made of stone because his knuckles were white from the death grip he had on the edge. Then the room became eerily silent and then someone let the air out of him like a balloon. He hunched over the counter on his elbows facing away from her and used one large hand to pull at his tired face. "Okay, stop. Don't fill one out, she's not missing." There was a long pause as he listened. "I don't care what you found or what you think you know." He waited. "I don't know a lot, but I know she's not missing, she's here." The last part of the sentence took on the sound of defeat. He wanted to look back at the table to see if Bella had any reaction to his comments but didn't. He hung up the phone, turned around, leaned back casually against the edge of the counter, and folded his arms across his chest. It was the most like 'Jacob' he'd looked since her arrival. He sorrowfully shook his head and finally focused directly on her.

You can't be here for five minutes without causing a commotion. The local authorities," he laughed for some reason, unknown to her, "found your car at the beach where you 'abandoned' it hours ago apparently. They're coming over; they have some questions for you."

Jacob left the kitchen in two strides and she heard his bedroom door close.

_**Review please. I promise the next chapter of Jacksonville is coming.**_


	3. Chapter 3

"Why today?" Jacob mumbled under his breath while he opened and closed the drawers to his dresser with such force that the objects on top toppled over. "Why not two days ago or even two weeks ago?" A t-shirt from one of the drawers was thrown and landed on the unmade bed behind him. "Hell why not any of the days during the past decade? Why did she have to materialize today?" He found the jeans he wore the day before laying in the corner and sat on his bed to change. "And then she's not here longer than a minute and the cops call." He threw one of his shoes at the corner where his jeans were. It thunked against the wall. "Where…why…what?" He threw the other shoe with a little more force and it left a small dent in the wall. He changed out of the formal wear and into the most comfortable things he had and tied up his boots. He pulled the tie from his hair that held it back and out of his face. He cradled his head in his hands, elbows on his knees. "And now I have no idea what to say to her next."He sat and hoped that inspiration would hit soon.

Bella was unceremoniously left alone at the kitchen table and it was awkward. Never had she felt awkward in Billy and Jacob's house. But then it went along with the welcome from Jacob that fell flat: he was there in the yard in front of her greeted here with: "Well, you're here. You might as well come in." He really didn't look at her and was already turning back to the house not giving her a choice.

She couldn't decide if her being there was causing added weight to whatever he already had on his mind. If she was causing him more harm then she needed to excuse herself.

She twisted silently from her chair to stand up. Taking one more long look around the kitchen to rememorize all the little details, she respectfully walked out, through the living room and quietly out the front door, pulling it shut behind her and saying good-bye.

Bella sat down on the top step and waited for the cavalry to arrive. Maybe they would give her a lift back to the beach and she could be on her way. The mist and rain was gone and the sun looked like it might make a rare appearance. Maybe hanging around at the beach until sunset and then speeding out of town would be in order.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a blue SUV pausing on the road. It waited for a car to pass so it could go across the single lane of oncoming traffic and pull into the Black's driveway. Bella stood up to walk down and meet them away from the house, but the vehicle passed her, pulled up and parked in an empty spot in the gravel as if it belonged there. The glare and position of the car interfered with seeing the occupants but she couldn't help imagine her dad in that vehicle taking on the role of policeman again. Every time she saw a police vehicle of any kind she imagined her father at the controls.

The doors to the reservations patrol car opened and Bella stopped her approach at a nonthreatening distance from the truck hoping to get this over with and get gone. Two men in jeans and long sleeved t-shirts with official markings on the sleeves stepped out from the truck, slammed the door shut and they walked her way.

Two seconds later, Bella recognized both men, was on the receiving end of smiles wider than Texas and wrapped in a hug she didn't know she needed, but gave into immediately.

"Oh My God." She breathed. Embry let her go and she switched to Seth's embrace. "Please tell me you're not the local authorities that I am waiting for."

"Yes, ma'am." With their smiles and hugs, everything seemed better. At least someone was happy to see her. She pushed back and saw some of the same changes in the two men in front of her that she saw in Jacob. They were leaner, more mature looking. It was great to see them.

"Who in their right mind let you be police officers?" An arm stayed around Seth's back to try and keep the conversation more friendly than official. It felt wonderful to be there with them and she couldn't let that change.

"Its nothing official. We volunteer some time each week to help patrol the area. Our 'genetic makeup' gives us an extra edge for search and rescue when it's needed." Bella laughed at Embry's explanation and shook her head. "I caught your scent near and beach and car. What have you been doing for the last few hours?"

"Walking."

"You decided to come here, to Washington, in February just to take a walk and you left," Embry consulted his notes, "North Carolina…Naggs Head, North Carolina for this?" He spread his arms wide open and Bella laughed. The sun might show its face but it was still cold and wintertime in the Northwest.

It then dawned on her that he mentioned her hometown. "How'd you know?"

"Rental company, we called to check into an abandoned rental car at the beach, of all places, in mid winter." She grimaced and nodded. "And they faxed us the rental contract and a copy of your driver's license. Nice photo by the way." Bella smacked Seth on the shoulder playfully knowing he would barefully feel it.

"If you'd give me a ride back down to my car, I'd be very appreciative."

"Can do. We're just glad you're here for Jake. Who called you and got you to come?"

"Why would I need to be here for Jacob? Called me about what?" She looked lightly from one man to the next.

Both men froze. She could see the wheels turning in their heads. "You haven't talked? Uh, he did get home right? You have seen him?" Seth asked moving away.

"Yeah, he's inside. What am I missing?" She forcefully asked again looking back and forth between the two.

"It's not really ours to tell." If men could tuck their tails and cower, then those two men were doing it. Bella was starting to get loud and angry. It was not something they had ever seen, at least not to this degree.

"It better become yours quickly because I've been with Jacob for forty-five minutes and he's said a total of four complete sentences to me." She pointed back at the house and then ran fingers through her hair to get it out of her face. "He got a call from you, announced your visit and shut himself in his room. I came out here to wait and not bother him anymore but you tell me I might be helping. Someone needs to start telling me what's going on."

"You're no bother, I'll bet right now, more than ever Jake needs your _warmth_." Seth pulled her back into his side and looked at her sideways. "You still haven't been changed."

Embry caught sight of her left hand. "You're not married?"

Bella pulled away from both with wild questions eyes. "No, I haven't been changed. I'm still Bella and I haven't married anyone. What does that have to do with anything? What is going on with Jacob? Why would he need me?" She was angry, confused, cautious and felt trapped.

"What right do you have to show up here asking questions?" Jacob stormed into the conversation having heard the whole thing unseen on the porch. "You left here eleven years ago after graduation to get married and die. Nobody has heard from you since your dad passed, hell, you didn't stay long enough for anyone to give you their condolences and that was seven years ago." Jacob was fuming and the other two men were ready to step between Jacob and Bella if need be. "Until an hour ago, I'd written you off as dead, in one way or another, so what position are you in to be asking questions about things that stopped being you business a long time ago? You lost any privilege to information." He was breathing heavy and shaking. He looked like he was about to phase but instead turned to the other two men in his yard and addressed them. "I think she's done here and needs a ride back to her car." The tone his used was clear and authoritative. Em and Seth fell over themselves trying to usher a dumbfounded Bella to the truck.

"Well that was definitely more than four sentences." Embry commented.

Jacob paced the empty space of the garage. He didn't know what caused him to blow up at Bella the way he did. It was much worse and stronger than any of the arguments they had before she left. But it felt good to yell at her. It felt good to stand there and put her in her place. It'd been one of the only times he'd had control in a decision.

Then it felt horrible to see her being driven away at his orders. 'His Bella' was there. He wasn't sure it was 'his Bella' until they were in the tiny kitchen and her scent filled the air. He didn't get close enough to her in the field to tell if it was her and then breeze was blowing in the wrong direction.

And he sent her away. He needed to fix this before she left the reservation and the last memory of him she had was of him yelling at her.

Feeling uneasy about how the next few hours were going to go, he took out his phone.

Why are we stopping?" The truck stopped at a diner between Jake's and the beach.

"That's the thing about Alpha's order, they have to be followed, but he didn't say we couldn't stop or that we had to do it immediately. We'll get you back to your car eventually."

A bell sounded when the door opened. The three of them took a seat in a booth in the back corner.

"Hey guys, what can I get you?" Bella watched the waitress and was reminded about how girls visibly drooled over the guys in the wolf pack. She couldn't blame the poor girl, Embry and Seth had kept their hair cut short, revealing the muscles in their neck and shoulders. Their smiles were friendly, they were tall and in good physical shape. They were every girls dream, except Bella's. She didn't dream anymore.

"I want a wolf's platter." Bella almost spit out the sip of water she took. Seth's order was startling.

"Me too." Added Embry laughing at her. Bella ordered herself a burger and fries. Embry stretched out across the seat that he didn't have to share with Bella and shot a winner's smile to Seth, who did have to share with someone this time around.

"So," bubbled Bella over-sugarly, and tenting her hands on the table edge, "what's new?"

"I think it would be easier if we asked that of you"

"I don't think so." She quipped not knowing where she would start.

"Why are you here?"

"What are we _all_ here? What is the meaning of life?" She threw back. They weren't getting anywhere. "I need to use the restroom, let me out." Seth stood and helped Bella get up from the bench.

Bella didn't know what she was doing there and had no answer for the boys. Jacob dismissed her, Seth and Embry were keeping something from her, a strange pull led her back to LaPush, and she dropped her life with barely a two second notice to run in that direction.

Bella held onto the sink for stability. She looked into the mirror and didn't know who was looking back at her. The reflection didn't resemble her at all. Days of driving and flying had taken their toll. She needed to sleep but first she needed to get back to her car. And the only way to get back to her car was through the men sitting out in the diner.

Seth's phone buzzed in his pocket. He shuffled around in his seat to retrieve it from his back pocket. He read the incoming message to himself: _"You at beach still?"_ He typed out a quick message and sent it back: _"Never made it to the beach. Put your nose in the air and follow it to the diner."_ Then he put the phone back in his pocket as the food arrived.

"Hey boys."

"There's our favorite fry cook." Embry called out.

"And how do you know I didn't spit in your eggs." Emily shot at him and put a Thanksgiving sized platter of food in front of Seth. "For you first, because you never say anything insulting ever."

"Who's the third plate for?" Emily asked.

"That would be mine." A timid voice sounded from behind Emily. Bella was now unsure about the welcomes she would get around there each time she saw someone. And the welcome from Emily was one for the books.

Emily's face went from questioning to curiosity to shock to wonder and then she hugged Bella with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here. When did you get in? How long are staying?"

"Finally an easy question." The scrunched brow on Emily looked funny. "Everybody's been asking me tough questions today and I don't have the easy answers. But I got into Seattle this morning and my flight home is late tomorrow night."

"I didn't see you this morning, I guess you didn't get here in time for the funeral." Embry was waving her off, trying to get her to stop talking.

"What funeral?" And there they went again. They all had information that she didn't.

Emily look horrified. "I thought that was why you were here. I'm sorry, I thought you knew." She stuttered.

"Knew what?" Bella was looking for answers and hoped one of the three could fill in the blanks but the answer came from someone who walked in unnoticed.

"That we said good-bye to my dad this morning."

**Thank you for reading. Next chapter coming soon. Review if it moves you.**


	4. Chapter 4

_**The hit counter and alert number keep going up and that tells me that there is something in this that people like. This has been a challange to write, but I am enjoying it way too much for my own good. Thank you for reading. Seeing that people are reading makes me want to write faster. **_

_From Previous Chapter:_

_"I didn't see you this morning; I guess you didn't get here in time for the funeral." Embry was waving her off, trying to get her to stop talking._

_"What funeral?" And there they went again. They all had information that she didn't._

_Emily look horrified. "I thought that was why you were here. I'm sorry, I thought you knew." She stuttered._

_"Knew what?" Bella was looking for answers and hoped one of the three could fill in the blanks but the answer came from someone who walked in unnoticed._

_"That we said good-bye to my dad this morning."_

_And now we continue:_

Jake was frozen in place. He was more broken than ever. Everyone was silent around the table and no one knew where to focus their stares. Seth and Embry focused on the plates in front of them on the table. Bella looked right at Jacob and Emily took her leave and went back to the kitchen.

"I'm so sorry Jacob." Bella interjected quietly. Thankful that Seth was blocking her in, leaving her unable to get to him. She was having a hard time. However, her education and clinical training were starting to kick in but she couldn't distance the personal factor from the equation.

"I was coming home from the service when you saw me." All she could do was let her head drop and rise once to show him she understood. The morning hours were emotionally and mentally draining for him. There wasn't much left in him to get through the rest of the day. She was surprised he could still stand he looked so weary and weak. Being there was probably adding anxiety and another distraction that he didn't expect. He already told her that none of the information she was looking for was any of her business. It was time for her to move on and leave the area.

"Guys, I think I'm ready to get back to my car." She said clearly and quietly. There was a definitive assertiveness to her words that they left little choice for the guys to do what she was ready to do. Bella discretely tucked some bills under the edge of her plate that would be more than enough to cover the three meals and a generous tip. "Seth, would you let me up please." The level of politeness was grating on Jake's nerves. She was too calm for his liking. She slipped by Seth and then by Jacob. She wanted to reach out and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder but didn't. His eyes followed her out of the diner and he shattered inside for the millionth time in the last two or three days.

Seth and Embry were gathering themselves up to finish the directions that their Alpha gave them.

Seth hesitated, fighting an internal battle of whether to say what was on his mind or just let it go. When Jake met his eye, and he saw that there was almost nothing to see in them, he knew he had to say something before it was too late. "Bro, if you're stopping her it needs to be now. Once we get her to that car, she's gone." Seth firmly informed his statuesque friend before trying to pass with Embry behind him. Jacob stepped Seth with a hand to his arm.

"My orders are cancelled. Sit and finish your food. I'll take her to her car. Check in later and I'll see you at the dinner tonight." He turned, walked slowly down the narrow space between the counter and bank of tables and out the door.

Bella had her back the the back passanger door of the locked SUV and basked in the weak sunlight. The air was brisk, normal for that part of the country, but that something she hadn't felt in a long time. It burned to breathe it in and cleansed her soul. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest and watched the front door for any sign of her drivers. The faster she got out of town, the faster she could bury herself in her work. The faster she got out of town the faster he could put this behind him and start healing. Psychology 101 - five stages of grief. She didn't know where he was in the process, but her return and appearance could alter how well he passed through the stages. She kicked at the gravel under her feel and dug a hole with the toe of her shoe while she ran through a list of books she would recommend to him. He was a little mature for some of the suggestion she had, but she dealt mostly with teenagers and colleges age young adults. She'd send him a list of age appropriate books once she got home to her list of resources.

The bell sounded when the door opened and she gave up on making the muddy hole under foot any deeper, and prepared to head out. Only it wasn't the two guys coming out the door, but just one and not the one she expected.

"Come on. I'm taking you back to your car. Those other two are wolfing down their meals and fighting over who gets what's left of yours." It was his attempt at humor but there was nothing behind it. He opened the passenger door of his truck and waited for her to get in. She climbed into the cab and the door closed behind her. Then she got the shock of her life. The inside of the truck didn't match the outside. Outside was shiny and new and polished and spotless and current. The inside was custom and a throwback to an older model. There weren't bucket seats like newer models, but one long bench seat like in her 'beast'. The radio looked like it came from her truck, as did the steering wheel and floor mats. With the door closed she felt like she was back in her pick-up. And hanging from the rearview mirror was a dream catcher that was an inch or two larger than the one he gave her on that fateful birthday years ago. The one he gave her hung in the window over her desk in her home office. The light hit it just right when the sun rose over the Atlantic Ocean outside her house.

The opposite door opened and he got in, taking his time to get adjusted and comfortable in his seat. She took a quick glance in his direction and the rush of memories flooded her brain.

_"You want to ride together to school?"_

_"What if I told you I couldn't fix those bikes?"_

_"Is it better now that you know?"_

_"108 degrees over here."_

The years were gone but he was still the awkward teenager. Somewhere uner the pain and agony that he was going through was the boy that used to make her life 'interesting'. Jake started the engine and all memories ended. It hummed quietly and sounded nothing like the one in her truck. The heater blasted to life and blew cool air out at first. The air slowly warmed and cycled scent of Jake all around her. It was a scent that she almost had replicated in her home by burning four or five scented candles at the same time, but something was still missing from her mixture. On 'over the top' days in her job she would fog up the house with the woodsy aromas and it would calm her nerves.

Jake still hadn't pulled the truck from the parking spot. She watched him out the corner of her eye. He put two hands on the wheel and tightened the grip over and over until his knuckles were white. He stared out the front window at nothing and then let his head fall forward to rest on the backs of his hands.

"I'm sorry I yelled early."

"It's understandable, you were already under stress and then I showed up." She was slipping into work habits and distancing herself from the situation and the person sitting in the cab of the truck with her. It needed to be easy for both of them when she left in a short while. She was trying not to become emotionally invested in what was going on.

"I have so many questions for you but after my outburst earlier, I feel that I don't deserve a second glance or the chance to even ask."

"You won't know if I will answer if you don't try." Again the soft clinical, comforting voice bulldozed over her feelings, but the ice around her was melting.

A car horn broke the deep heavy groundwork that was being laid. Seth was trying to maneuver out of the small parking lot and honked at Jake's truck on the way. Bella looked up and in their direction, but Jacob stayed still, head down, grip tight.

"You need to tell me what to do here. I can take you to your car and watch as you drive away or we can go talk somewhere. There's a memorial dinner tonight at the community center for my dad that I am expected to go to. You're more than welcome to come, but I'm not ready for you to leave yet."

"To be honest with you, I don't know what to do either. Forty-eight hours ago something told me to stand up from my desk and come here. Not to you specifically but to LaPush. That's how I ended up at the beach. I started walking on the path in the woods and I passes Sam's and the came to your land. The push that drove me to be here ended when I got into the garage. I was on my way back to the car when you saw me. I didn't know what to do next."

"If I hadn't gotten hung up with the elders then you would have been in the garage and I would have found you there. It's where I was heading before I saw you in the yard. If you made it two feet into the trees, I never would have seen you, but your scent was everywhere. At first I thought it was a small gift from the spirits to comfort me, but there you stood." His head was still down. "I still don't know if this is a dream."

"Take me to my car." She told him in the same quiet voice that she told Seth and Embry.

Jake's head popped up to look at her in complete shock. And then it disappeared and became a far off blank stare out the front window and there was no emotion. He threw the truck into reverse and the tires squealed. Jake shifted into drive and he took off with in a flash. Jake was a fast driver, but he was driving angry fast.

"Slow down."

"No, if you are leaving again, I'm not stopping you or prolonging your departure."

"I'm not leaving yet, just moving my car. I don't need the locals calling about my car sitting by itself in the lot. I'll follow you back to the house."

"No, I can't be at that house yet."

"Then we'll stay at the beach. I saw that the tree is still there." She kept her words even and soft.

"It's a little worse for wear and tired looking, but still there."

"Aren't we all?" She replied without thinking, but it came out. It was funny to Jake that the two thirtysomethings in the truck sounded like senior citizens. He kept his hollow laughter inside and slowed the truck down a little.

They made it to the bleached piece of driftwood, Bella refused to refer to it as _their _tree, at least in his company. She found a place to sit on it that was dry and she could face the sun. Jake leaned against the fallen tree a foot away and buried his hands deep in his pockets of his jeans. His broad shoulders slumped after he pushed a deep sigh from his lungs. Waves rolled gently a little ways away and he stared at the horizon.

Neither knew if they should go first. Neither knew where to start. None of the information they wanted would easily flow into easy conversation. Jake overheard most of what the two guys talked to her about but he wanted to hear it again and get more details. Bella wanted to know about him, the pack, and what happened with his dad. She wanted to know about everything she was missing about home. Who was living in her house, did he know anything about any of her friends from high school?

"So," she decided to start, "how've you been?" This time he couldn't hold in his chuckle and his slumped shoulders bounced and air escaped him in a huff. She asked the question as if they just had seen each other last week and were meeting for lunch. His chuckles turned into full belly laughs and it was music to her ears. He probably didn't have enough to laugh at in the last few days.

In between breaths he got out: "Fine, you?"

"I've been alright." She chewed her nail trying to work out the next few questions, but Jake beat her to it once his breathing was under control and he could string more than four words together.

"So, what have you been doing with yourself?"

"I've been working as an adolescent councilor for high schoolers and college age young adults."

It was obvious that he was taken back and he stuttered over his words. "Wow, not what I was expecting."

"What were you expecting?"

"I don't know, but not that. Literature wouldn't have surprised me. I guess I'm a little surprised that you made it through to graduation."

"And graduate school." She mentioned, proud to share her accomplishment in a shy distinguished fashion.

"Again, wow. Why counseling?"

"It started with Psychology 101 my freshman year and went from there." She was giving him answers but not quite enough for his liking.

"How's your mom?" His plan was to start small and work his way up. He had some BIG questions to ask and wanted them to sound natural.

Bella, deep in thought, smiled at his question. "She's busy, but good." Building up the courage, her eyes rose from the ground to look at him. There was pain and difficulty etched into his features. Expressions changed each time thoughts changed in his mind. She spoke to what she knew was going on internally. "Jacob just ask, you won't explode."

"How's Edward?" The answer to that question would speak to what path her life was taking. The answer to that question could explain why she had cut all ties to the life she lived for eightteen months or so during high school that also changed his life.

Bella puffed up all proud, sat up straight, and straightened her shoulders. She then slumped back down again as if someone else was there and stole her thunder. "I don't know. His family and I parted ways ten years ago."

Again she could see in his face the questions, hurt and confusion. A thousand new avenues formed that he needed answers. He wanted specific answers. Why hadn't she come back when they parted ways all those years ago? Why did she stay away? Where did the Cullens go and if she didn't have anything to get back to then why didn't she stick around when her dad died?

"Why didn't you come back? Why didn't you visit Charlie more before he died? What happened?" The last question sounded as if it hurt to ask. He was looking at the sand instead of at her. He missed the brilliant smile that was so strong it reached her eyes, ears, forehead and everything else.

"Alex happened."

_Gasp...No Edward? Not for ten years? What?... Want the answers? Next chapter soon. Until then, I go and work on _Jacksonville.

Review please. There is no feeling like getting feedback that someone is enjoying what they are reading. There is no more greater motivation to keep going than a few kind words.


	5. Chapter 5

**_You continue to amaze me with the number of readers, reviewers, and and added alerts that come in with each chapter that is posted of this story. It's starting to roll now and more information is coming out about the events that happened between her leaving after the newborn fight and her reappearance eleven years later. Read on and let me know what you think should happen next._**

_"Why didn't you come back? Why didn't you visit Charlie more before he died? What happened?" The last question sounded as if it hurt to ask. He was looking at the sand instead of at her. He missed the brilliant smile that was so strong it reached her eyes, ears, forehead and everything else._

_"Alex happened."_

"Oh." Was all Jacob could come up with. It hurt to know that there was someone other than him who could break the pull that Edward had on her. It was physically painful to realize that someone she met, someone new in her life in the past ten years was able to do the one thing he wanted to do most in the world.

Bella had here phone in her hand and it was beeping while she pressed buttons and scrolled through the various screens. Jacob was lost in thought about how she met this Alex and what moves he made that Jacob didn't make. Where did they meet, was he still around, would he be waiting for her when she got back home. New thoughts formed and Jake was about to take Bella back to the parking lot and say good-bye. He didn't need to be thinking about all that while dealing with the loss he'd had.

All of a sudden there was a tiny screen thrust in front of his face. Bella's phone was directly in his sight line and a little too close to his nose to really get a good look at what she was showing him. It took him a minute but he was looking at the picture of a little girl that had Bella's eyes and hair. The shape of the face was all wrong and didn't look familiar. She was maybe nine or ten. His first thought was that this was Bella's daughter. "Who...how...wha? Yours?..Edward?"

Bella couldn't stop the ridiculous bubble of laughter that was brought on by his comment and horrified face. "Jacob, this is Alexandria, my little _sister._"

He changed his thought path and took another long look and the girl in the picture. "No way." He blushed at the ideas that formed in his head. It was her sister, Renee's daughter.

The phone was removed from in front of his face and she looked for herself. "She was born a year after I left here with the Cullens, late that summer. Edward convinced me to put off the wedding and change until after the first year of college, so that I could have that 'human experience'." She rolled her eyes. Jacob didn't know if it was because of how crazy the idea of her ever going through with the original plan sounded all these years later or the term itself. "Then I wanted to be present for the birth so that put things off again. When I held her for the first time," she sounded so light and in awe of the event that he swore it was happening again. "I knew I couldn't go through with any of it. I transferred to Duke that fall to be further away from Dartmouth and a little closer to Jacksonville, but still far enough away from Renee and Phil to have my own independence. Any time I had a break longer than a weekend, I went to Jacksonville to visit. Last time I was there was Christmas."

Jake was smiling. "She ties you to the earth, keeps you grounded."

"Yes."

"If you were a wolf, I'd say you imprinted."

"You might say that. My life with her didn't support what I had with Edward. My connection with her was stronger than Edward's and I had to say goodbye to him and his family. He understood and calmly bowed out. That pissed me off more than anything and left me confused again about his feelings for me. It wasn't easy, but it had to be done."

"So your mom had another baby, Charlie never said anything."

The mention of her father's name made the sun fade for her. A shadow of sadness clouded over her face. "He knew about her, but there wouldn't be any reason for him to talk about her or bring her up in conversation. She was four years old a few days after he died. It's why I rushed out of town after the funeral. Her party was the next day and I wouldn't let them change the date."

"Wow." Was all he could say?

"No kidding, wow." Bella closed the phone and put it back in her jacket pocket. "She loves the legends. She'd freak if she knew they were true."

"You've told her the stories?"

"They're her favorite bedtime stories. She also loves to hear about her big sister's friends Jacob, Seth, Embry, Jared, Paul, Quil, Sam and all the crazy things they did together."

"She knows about us?" There was a wistful awe to his voice that made the question come out sounding more like _"She knows about me?"_

"Yes, and the Cullens and Charlie and my truck and the motorcycles and cliff diving. Just recently she heard about the Voltori, James, Victoria, and Laurent. She loves to hear the stories I tell. She had a bonfire on the beach at Renee's for her 10th birthday because she thought they sounded cool. It was nice but the wood didn't burn the same and flames were the wrong color. It made me miss being here."

Jacob let her linger on her last thought and watched her gaze get lost in the low rolling surf. "So what does her brother-in-law think of you running to Florida every other weekend?"

Bella grinned at the roundabout way he was looking for information. "Smooth, really smooth but you already know I'm not married."

"Future brother-in-law?"

"No future brother-in-law in the picture. I'm married to my work and my dog." Jake's head tilted in wonder to one side and Bella couldn't help but snicker at him. "I got a beautiful blue eyed husky that goes everywhere with me, even to work. He loves the attention from the kids I work with. Alex thinks it's funny that my two best friends have the same name." He looked puzzled at her. "My dog's name is Jake. It's one of the reasons I picked him."

"He was already named that?"

"Yep, it was on his paperwork. They said I could change it but I thought it was just meant to be so I left it."

"We have a cat at the garage we call Izzy."

Bella grinned. "Short for..."

"Yep." He finished without completing her sentence. "The guys give me a hard time about it. It gets along with me the best and only tolerates the other guys."

"So you have a garage? Here in La Push?" He nodded a few times. "And some of the pack work for you?" She probed. He nodded again. "How did that happen?"

"Uh...I worked at this place right out of high school, saved up some money and got enough from other sources to buy the owner out four years ago. Most of the guys already worked there and they just stayed on. We pick up new guys to train and then they move on, but the old crew has pretty much stayed the same."

"Who's there?"

"Quil." He held out his hand to count them off on his fingers. "Embry we hired on because of his mastery with bikes, Jared's full time and then some new guys from Forks and around here." He blew out a sigh and thought for a second longer to make sure that he had everyone.

"Forks, you still have connections there?"

"Uh, yeah." And he pushed away from the tree ending that topic path. "Let's walk a little, the sun's going down and its going to get cold. I need to start thinking about getting to that dinner soon. You sticking around for that?"

"If you want me to."

She followed him to the community center in her rental. The whole situation was feeling surreal again. In the truck in front of her was Jacob. She was driving on a road in Washington State. What the hell was she doing? Her life was rationally thought out, under a well balanced routine and it had all gone to crap in the last 48 hours. And now she was following Jacob Black around on the reservation.

And she was having fun. She couldn't wait until her next visit with Alex to tell her about the adventure she was on. She was going to love the story.

Tail lights on the truck in front of her came on and it maneuvered into a parking lot near a newish looking building. She parked right next to him and calmed her nerves with a deep breath.

They walked side by side into the large meeting room where a group of people were milling around and talking. At the door she let him continue on his own. This event was for him and his family. She was a guest. She scanned the room looking for familiar faces and landed on a round banquet table off in a corner where Emily was trying to feed a small child in a high chair. Three other children sat at the table eating. They all looked like boys and were definitely Sam's children.

Jacob looked back to see where she'd gone once he noticed that she was no longer by his side. She was moving around the edge of the room and pointed towards Emily. Jacob looked in that direction, saw the Uley family and nodded in understanding. He soon disappeared into a huddle of people waiting to talk with him.

"Bella, you're still here." She was sure that Emily would have gotten up to greet her, but the smallest of the children was protesting that his food was not getting to his mouth fast enough and she went back to scraping some green paste out of a jar with a small spoon. Most of it made it to the baby's mouth.

"You have more kids than I remember." Emily looked at her strange. "I called and talked to Charlie on the rare occasions before he died and last I heard you had two beautiful boys."

"We have these four and another one on the way." She pushed back from the table revealing a baby bump.

"When?"

"I'm half way there. And then Sam's getting fixed." Both women laughed.

They talked for a while and Bella filled in some of the details from her missing years to Emily. Emily blabbed on and on about family life and change. The kids finished eating and the older three took off to play. Bella enjoyed Emily's company and told her about Alex, school and work. She answered some of the same questions for Emily that Jake asked and a few new ones. While talked she watched Jacob moved around the room being greeted by those shared their warmest words of loss with him. He kept a brave face about him but she could tell that there was something else brewing just below the surface and at any time he would crack.

"So the rumor is true." The stare she had locked on Jacob was broken and she looked up to see the entire pack minus Jake was approaching. "We thought these guys were just making it up." Quil added. She held her hands out to reply 'here I am!' and then got out of her chair to be passed around from one set of oversized arms to another. Seth and Embry held back, already having received one and let Jared, Quil, Sam, and Paul get theirs. Leah gave into a warm hug and even smiled. Two other boys stood there. "Bella you might not remember Collin and Brady."

"Oh, yeah, sure." She gave an awkward wave remembering their names being mentioned but not much more. She sat down in her chair and the rest of the men took a seat or moved one over to crowd around the round table. Questions came faster than she could answer and she was becoming flustered. It was exactly the kind of situation she was trying to avoid. This was a night for Jacob and his family, not her. She tried to get a few questions out, asking about them but they were too interested in the mystery disappearance and reappearance of Bella Swan. She kept her answers short but gave enough information to satisfy their wondering minds.

Jacob was numb. There were only so many times one could hear the same thing before the words became low mumbles and lost their meaning. He was deaf to the voices. After two days of it, the words almost became annoying to hear. The one thing that kept him standing was watching Bella laugh across the room. The guys were talking and telling stories on each other to embarrass one another and kept her going. In her lap she held Sam's youngest and she talked to Leah, Kim and Emily for a long time. She was introduced to some of the girlfriends that came along after she left and for the first time in months his heart rate slowed down.

Bella leaned over to ask Jared or Paul a question directly and turned to search the room at the same time as if waiting for them to point someone out to her.

Then he saw the mood at the table shift. From where he was standing there were enough conversations going on that he couldn't hear what was exactly being said. Emily reached over to halt the conversation, shook a finger at the guys and then in Jacob's direction. Every eye turned his way and like a dumb ass he turned around to see if there was anyone behind him that they could be talking about. He turned and looked passed the person talking to him and saw confusion, question, desperation, hurt and a lot of other emotions he couldn't read on the faces of all those sitting at the table.

"Would you excuse me please?" Jacob didn't wait for a reply. He eased by the latest sympathizer and walked through the crowd ignoring extended hands and people who were calling his name. His goal was the table and to figure out what was going on.

Jake approached and most of the pack left. Their departure didn't go unobserved.

"Someone want to tell me where they're going and what just happened here." He made eye contact with Emily first, who seemed to be the one who stopped the conversation that was going on and then when he got no answer the looked at everyone else looking for answers and landed on Bella who looked just as confused as he felt.

"You didn't tell her about Rachael or the baby." Jared informed him.

"Or about Rebecca and the baby." Emily added quietly avoiding his eye.

"What about them?" Bella looked around the table lost at the details given by Jared and Emily but not explained by anyone.

"Can we talk for a minute? Outside?" There was no question about who he was talking to.

"Yeah, sure." Still confused, she scrambled to stand and make her way around the table.

We'll be right back." He told the table and headed outside with Bella on his heels. A muffle of whispers was left behind as they left. He retrieved a heavy parka from behind the driver's seat of his truck and handed it over to her. "You're gonna need this." The tailgate of his truck fell and he sat down. The spot next to him was offered and taken. "What question did you ask at the table that got Emily all riled up?"

"I asked Jared where Rachel was."

He hung his head and shook it as if to shame himself for not remembering something important. "Rachel is a home with her and Jared's first born." Her excitement built with comment of congratulations, but he spoke again before she could share them. "And she's home dealing with the loss of dad..." His fingers braided and unbraided around themselves in his lap and he let out a huge sigh. "She's also dealing with the fact that six months ago Rebecca was killed in an accident in Hawaii. My nephew was killed also. There was a car accident and the other driver was drunk, swerved across the center line. They were both killed instantly. When Rachel found out she went into premature labor and was put into the hospital. It was stopped and she was sent home to spend the rest of her pregnancy in bed. I was the only one able to go to Hawaii for the service."

"And now here you are the only one who could be at your dad's"

He hung his head low again and it barely bounced a few times to nod yes. "When I got back, I moved home to help out with dad since Rachel was in bed and Jared was helping her. Dad had gotten to a point that he needed almost daily care in one way or another. Then two days ago, after lunch while I was at work he died in his sleep during his afternoon nap on the couch. I called to see what he wanted me to bring him for dinner, but he didn't answer. I sent the official police over to check on him and they found him, but I just knew when he didn't answer the phone. I had to tell Rach and it was like Becca all over again. I've been on auto pilot ever since."

"When was the last time you ate?" Her training was kicking in again.

"Yesterday morning I think."

"When was the last time you slept?"

He chuckled and it sounded so foreign to her ears. "Probably about six months ago." He sounded so hollow, running on nothing and just barely making it through. His time and energy was spent on other and he was lost to fend for himself.

"I'm sorry Jacob, for so many things."

"Don't." He stopped her cold. "Just don't, you didn't know."

"But I can still be sorry. Is there anything else I don't know that you want to tell me before I ask someone else and get shut down?" She laughed a little wondering what could be left and waited for him to tell her 'no'.

"Yeah. Yeah there is." His laugh was one of an exhausted man who was becoming loopy. He rubbed his eyes and face to wake himself up a bit and erase the heavy from their conversation the best he could. "But I have to show you. I assume you're staying around here tonight. It's too late for you to be driving back to Port Angeles or Seattle."

"Haven't thought that far but I can stick around the area if you want me around tomorrow. I need to find a hotel."

"I have an extra bedroom you can use, if you don't mind staying with me."

"I don't mind at all, you're actually doing me a favor."

"Let's say good bye to the nosy people in there dying to know what's going on out here. We've got a bit of a drive to get back to my house. Your car can stay here until tomorrow."

The journey was silent

The drive to Jake's house was taking too long.

Thinking was overrated.

The three things put together equaled Bella having a long stretch of time to think and put the muddy puddle of information into something clear. It made her head hurt. It had her tied up in knots. She leaned against the cool window with her eyes closed. The scenery was passing too quickly and she was getting dizzy.

The drama of the last two days replayed and it didn't go unnoticed to her that this journey started at the same time that Billy died. It ended about the same time that Jacob found her in the clearing. He hadn't said her name yet. She hadn't heard her name pass his lips. Not a 'Bella' or 'Bells," nothing. He hadn't tried to give her a hug, one of his signature hugs that warmed her to the core and made everything better. The last one she got was during a kiss she asked him for back during a time when life and everything was complicated. She laughed to herself .

"And I thought you'd fallen asleep over there. Good dream?" She glanced in his direction. One hand was on the top of the wheel and an elbow on the door's arm rest. His hand rubbed at his temple. She must have broken his train of thought with her quiet giggles.

"No just thinking."

"And right now, your thoughts make you laugh?"

"I was thinking about high school."

"And again, your time in high school made you laugh?" That was even harder to understand.

"Yeah, but because I thought about how complicated life was there compared to now."

Jake laughed like she did. "You mean being in the middle of a love triangle with a vampire and a werewolf, who were enemies, is more complicated than hiding away for eleven years with no contact and then returning, after everyone around here thought you'd be married and vamped, to all the questions and drama, not knowing what you were walking into?"

"Yeah, and now you see why I laughed." Signs started passing the window that she recognized. "Jacob?"

"Uh huh?"

"Why are we in Forks?"

"One, I have something to show you. And two, I live here."

They got to Newton's store and Jake paused in the parking lot so she could take a look. They passed the high school and he hesitated so she could look. They passed her dad's favorite place to eat, the town square, and the police station. It wasn't hard to know what they would pass next. Jacob was taking her on a walk down memory lane and her Dad's old house was near. Jacob stopped in front of it like de did with the other landmarks but he cut the engine and got out. Bella followed his lead.

"Where are you going?"

"For a closer look. It's been empty for a while. Aren't you curious?" He pressured her.

"Not really." But she was trying to see into the windows. The lights were out, the landscaping was neat, Jake's tree still grew tall and strong outside her old window.

"I have keys, you want to go in?"

"Why do you have keys?"

"Charlie gave me a set of keys for emergencies and they never changed the locks."

"And you say it's been empty?"

"Yep." The 'p' popped.

"I guess, you got a flashlight?" It was almost 10:30 and there was no moon.

"Won't be needed, electricity is on." Jacob opened the front door and flipped on a light and disappeared into the back part of the house.

Shock wasn't the word. The place was not empty, but fully furnished and looked very lived in, a little dusty, but lived in. A stack of unopened mail sat next to the door on the floor, a blanket was half thrown over the back of the couch. A basket of laundry sat at the foot of the steps ready to be put away or washed.

"Somebody lives here, you told me that..." She heard the unique sound of key hitting a counter top. A cabinet opened and closed and the faucet in the kitchen ran. Before making any more assumptions she ran up the stairs, her feet making loud stomps on the bare wood. In Charlie's old closet hung coveralls, t-shirts, a few pairs of dress pants and jeans. She stepped into the tiny bathroom in the hall and recognized all of the products that littered the sink and around the tub. She exited and went to the last room on that floor, her old room and stood in the middle. It was set up as a small guest room and home office, almost like she had it when she lived there.

"Home Sweet Home." She jumped at the smooth voice behind her. She twisted around and he leaned casually against the door jam, arms folded across his chest, feet crossed, head tilted to the side, resting on the wood. "Oh, the questions you must have now."

**_Now what? Bella still has some questions to answer. Jake hasn't opened up about anything that has happened over the last eleven years except for the six months. How should his story unfold? Review and let me know._**

**_I LOOOOOOOVE REVIEWS!_**


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